Nevaeh University
by lrhaboggle
Summary: TRIGGER WARNING FOR SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE IN CHAPTER 1! June and Cora's heavenly adventures told in a College AU.
1. Friendship

**AN: TRIGGER WARNING: Self-harm and a suicide attempt!**

 **Also, for those of you feeling this way, my PM box is always open if you need someone to talk to. We can even move it to an email chat if that feels safer for you. If I'm not the person you want to talk to, however, here's the national suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255. Whether or not you read this chapter, for any of you who feel this way, know that I offer my sincerest love and a listening ear!**

June Freeman treaded wearily through the dark and silent halls of Nevaeh University. It had been a long day. And it had been made even longer by the detention June suffered for talking out of turn. But that was nothing new. She probably knew the detention center better than the people who ran it. June didn't regret getting the detention at all, either, feeling that she had been totally justified in her actions. She was just tired because it was so late. She couldn't wait to get to bed! On the way to the dorm, though, June decided to make a quick stop in the powder room so she wouldn't use the dorm bathroom and bother her peers. The moment she entered the facility, though, she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. For reasons unknown, something felt wrong. Trusting her instincts, June walked deeper into the bathroom and noticed that the very last stall had somebody in it. But June saw feet _and_ legs! That meant somebody was on the _floor_ of the bathroom instead of on the toilet. June frowned slightly before approaching the stall and calling out in a mock-innocent voice.

"Alexis? Is that you?" she knocked the door gently. She received no reply. June knew that what she was about to do was rude, but curiosity drove her on. She knelt down beside the door and peeked under, just hoping for a quick glance. What she saw made her recoil.

There, slumped over the toilet, was the shy teacher's-pet named Cora Stein. What threw June off was not seeing Cora there, it was seeing her in that slumped position and as June took a harder look, she realized that there were several lines of blood running down the side of the toilet. What? June crawled under the door and, through the tight squeeze, unlocked the stall from the inside so that some of the light could reach Cora better. The illumination served only to worsen the scene because, as June was able to stand in the stall more freely, she realized that although only a few streams of blood covered the external portion of the toilet, the water within with dark red and all of the blood was coming from Cora's wrists. There was also the outline of something sharp at the very bottom of the toilet bowl. June knew at once that it was a razor blade. June also noticed, then, how contorted Cora's face was. Clearly, she had been crying recently. Crying recently.

June immediately checked Cora's neck for a pulse and, without meaning to, sobbed in relief. Her heartbeat was faint, but it was still there. Quickly, June tore part of her uniform off in order to make binds for Cora's wrists. They would slow the flow of blood until she could come back with help. Then, without another thought, the blond went sprinting off to find the university's nurse.

10 minutes later, June had successfully argued the nurse out of her bed and back to that bathroom. Upon arrival, June saw the four other girls clustered by the door. From their disturbed expressions and worried whispers, June realized at once that they too had discovered Cora's body. Those four girls were other members of June and Cora's dorms. Apparently, even though it was late, they had all noticed two of their classmates missing and had gone out to find them. They found Cora first and, having not expected to find the girl in such a deathly state, were now panicking and trying to decide what to do. When they saw June, who had brought the nurse, they all let out audible sighs of relief and stepped aside, allowing June and the nurse to rush right back into the bathroom and to the very last stall. The four stood outside while June and the nurse went to fetch Cora. Only seconds after they entered the bathroom, the nurse and June were back out, June carrying Cora in her arms bridal style.

"We need to take her to our emergency center," the nurse instructed. "Now come on!" she urged. June followed at once, face set in grim determination as Cora lay curled up in her arms. The other four girls all exchanged frightened looks before running after June and the nurse. They knew they should go back to bed instead, but after seeing Cora's state, they would not rest until they knew if she would survive the night.

Upon arrival to the emergency center, June laid Cora down in one of the first open beds and the nurse set about, properly cleaning and binding Cora's bloody wrists. Her five peers all stood in the corner of the room, unsure of what to do but certain that they did not want to leave until they knew if Cora would be ok. Finally, they received the verdict.

"She will live," the nurse said. The other five girls exhaled in relief. Despite the trauma and chaos of the past 20 minutes, the nurse gave them a smile, but then that smile faded and her expression sharpened. "You five had best get back to bed. It's past curfew."

"We understand," the five responded, but only four left. Despite everyone's best attempts, June stubbornly remained at Cora's side.

"You all can go on without me, I'll be fine. I don't care what they punish me with now, but I can't just leave her like this," the blond insisted, looking mournfully at Cora. Her breathing and pulse were far stronger than before but she was still so pale and weak and she hadn't moved yet. "Go back to bed, guys," June repeated. "But I'm not leaving her."

The four girls exchanged looks with each other and then with June but when they saw that fierce determination in her eyes, they knew they had a better chance of uprooting the whole school with their bare hands than they did of convincing June to do something she didn't want to. They finally bade her and Cora a goodnight even though only June could hear it. Then, in single file, they all returned to the dorms while June turned back to Cora's limp figure. The blond took the brunette's hand in her own.

"Come on, Cora. Please… Please hold out!" she whispered. The nurse, who had watched the whole scene, sighed tiredly and wiped at a few tears.

Cora woke up groggily, feeling sick and miserable. She tried to sit up, but her head throbbed so much that she had to lie back down. She looked at her surroundings, not quite understanding where she was or how or why. Then all at once, out of the blue, it all came flooding back to her. She remembered everything! She remembered her excitement upon being accepted into Nevaeh University and she remembered the thrill of walking through those hallowed gates for her very first time. She remembered how smart she'd been and how much positive response from the teachers, but at the same time, it garnered a lot of negative response from her peers. She remembered how they used to bully, mock, insult, and maybe even attack her. Physically and mentally reminding her everyday what they thought about goody-two-shoe nerds like her. She remembered every cruel name and every hard shove. She remembered all the tears she had shed out of shame, loneliness and grief. She hadn't asked for this! She didn't want to spend her entire college career being hated by every student around just because she actually did enjoy learning. Worst of all, Cora hadn't had anyone to talk to. She had no friends and her parents, though they had sent her here initially, weren't exactly the warm and loving type anymore. Finally, the overwhelming loneliness, anxiety and shame became too much for Cora to bear and she turned to cutting for the very first time in her life. It was surprisingly easy to do and to get away with without being caught. She remembered that warm sting across her arm and how liberating and in control it had made her feel. At least, for a little while. Then she cut too deep.

Now she was here, in the hospital wing of the university. But how? Before she could think on it, though, the young woman heard the creaking of an opening door. On instinct, she feigned sleep, though she kept her ears open wide. At last, she even dared to open her blue eyes just a little and even though the lighting wasn't the best, coming from the hallway instead of the room Cora was in, she recognized at once who it was. The dean! Her blood ran cold. Although she had never met him personally, she knew of his fearsome reputation and already, she felt guilty, though she wasn't exactly sure why as she hadn't technically done anything wrong.

"What happened?" the dean asked roughly, his voice sending chills down Cora's spine as she tried to keep of the charade of sleep.

"Suicide attempt," the nurse replied calmly, though Cora knew the lady was afraid. She was just better at hiding it.

"Hmmm, that'll do no good. Especially not here," the dean grunted gruffly. "Expel her!" What?

"You can't!" a new voice cried, leaping to Cora's defense. Cora heard the dean and the nurse both make noises of surprise. Cora shared the feeling but for a different reason. The dean and the nurse were surprised by the bold line. Cora was surprised by the speaker. It was June Freeman. She would know that voice from anywhere, being well-acquainted with it, sadly. It was a very nice and commanding voice, it just always dripped acid and sadism whenever it was speaking to Cora. But now, however, it sounded protective and maybe even a little scared. What?

"What are you doing here?" the dean growled, voicing Cora's unspoken question.

"I'm looking after her," June replied. "I carried her here!" Had she really? Cora wanted so badly to ask why and how.

"Then you can help carry her out," the dean snarled impatiently.

"No I can't," June growled back. Cora felt the whole room inhale sharply, even she did. Nobody ever dared defy the dean. "And you won't touch her. I won't let you!" Cora thought she might faint from fear for June's sake.

"What?" the dean snapped, voice cold and soft as snow but twice as deadly.

"You can't expel somebody unless they've had a proper trial and she, obviously, has not and will not be able to for some time. You can't expel her until then. It's in the rules!" June dared to reply, with a tone matching the dean's. What followed was total silence and it felt like it would never end but finally, Cora heard the sound of receding footsteps. They were heavy and Cora could feel the anger in them.

"Well June, I must say that was incredibly dangerous of you," the nurse began. Cora, once again, found herself silently agreeing. She was sure her heartbeat was going crazy right now from fear and she wondered briefly if June would be punished for her insolence. But actually, everything she had said was true. There was a policy that allowed a potential expellee to try and explain themselves back into Nevaeh as a last shot at redemption and salvation, but the fact that June had reminded the dean of this to his own face was what worried Cora, and the nurse.

"I know," the blond finally answered the nurse. "But I don't care."

"That's a dangerous thing to say," the nurse warned.

"I know, but I don't care," June repeated. Cora heard the nurse sigh, fear and resignation within that one simple breath. The silence returned and this time, it did not lift for almost 10 minutes. In that time, Cora felt herself being tended to again. She still feigned sleep.

At last, however, the nurse spoke up again.

"You should come with me, June," the nurse said. "Don't risk the dean's wrath again."

"No, I want to stay here," June said yet again. There was no reply, but Cora knew that the nurse and June would now have a silent staring contest until somebody lost. Cora was betting money on June. Her gamble paid off. Just a few seconds later, Cora heard the nurse sigh again and then there was the tell-tale heels clicking away out of the office. That was how Cora knew that June had won and was still here and would be here until class the next morning. Finally, Cora decided to address her savior.

"Thank you," she whispered after she could no longer hear the nurse's shoes.

"Cora? You're up?" June asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Cora replied. She opened her eyes to prove her point and saw June hovering right over her, genuine concern in her soft green eyes. It was a flooring thing to see for Cora because, before then, she had only ever seen eyes of dislike and disdain.

"Oh Cora, I'm so sorry for what I did!" she began to weep. "Truly I am! I know I was absolutely horrible to you and I know that this is all my fault but I really am sorry. You must believe me! I never realized-" the blond was cut off by her own crying and it was then that Cora realized just how scared for her June had really been. At first, in Cora's pessimistic mind, June had only saved her to ease her own conscience. Now, as the blond continued to ramble desperate and sincere apologies, blaming herself for every cut on Cora's wrists, Cora began to see otherwise. She knew for a fact that June really was sorry and this was neither a game nor an attempt to save her own soul. Instead, June was genuinely scared for Cora, for Cora and not anyone else, not even herself. June genuinely worried for Cora's health as a human and not because she wanted to ease her own guilt.

At last, as Cora pondered this, she decided to speak up.

"June?" she asked.

"Yes?" the blond sniffled, shutting up at once the moment she heard Cora speak.

"I forgive you," the brunette replied.

"What?" June sniffled again, honest disbelief in her voice.

"I forgive you," Cora repeated patiently.

"But how?" June's voice cracked. "After everything I and the others have done to you, how can you forgive any of us?"

"I just can," Cora replied with a half shrug.

"But isn't there anything we can do first to earn your forgiveness? Or at least make it up to you?" June asked.

"Well, there is one thing I want…" Cora confessed, heart racing again. She was about to make a big request, she could only hope June would agree.

"Anything!" the blond promised, leaning in even closer to Cora.

"Your friendship," the brunette answered plainly.

For a moment, there was silence again and Cora began to worry that June would revert to her old, bullying nature and begin laugh. Actually, June was about to do the exact opposite. She had heard Cora and understood all the implications that were within her request, she just couldn't believe it. June could not believe that Cora wanted to be her friend. Although every student at Nevaeh University had picked on Cora at one point or another, June had always been one of Cora's worst tormentors. To hear the girl asking for her friendship now seemed like something impossible. But no, Cora was dead serious. The way her blue eyes shined through the dark conveyed that and June found herself nodding.

"Of course," June finally whispered, getting choked up. "I would be honored."

"You would?" Cora sounded so happy that June nodded again, fresh tears streaming down her face. In that moment, a friendship was made and June promised on her life that she would be the best friend Cora could ask for. She was going to make up for all the times she nearly killed Cora and she was going to take the brunette's time here the best in her life. And that was a promise! After that bond was solidified through a verbal promise, the two girls fell asleep together, hands intertwined.

 **AN: First off, once again, for any of you in Cora's place, I offer condolences and my PM box is always open. Here's the suicide hotline again too: 1-800-273-8255.**

 **Second off, this is part of the NU series where Cora is a nerdy girl who is bullied almost to suicide. I apologize if this triggers anyone (and I'm using the word "trigger" with its medical definition because I don't like how it's become a colloquial term to replace "angered") and I apologize if anything seems rushed, forced, or inaccurate. I, myself, have never dealt with bullying or self-harm so I don't know if this was accurate and I don't know if Cora's quick forgiveness seemed too idealistic. I swear I am not trying to romanticize this, but please tell me if it seems that way and I will fix it. REMEMBER, if you are in this situation, please stay strong. I offer my love and a willing ear both!**


	2. Professor

Cora and June sat side by side in their first class of the day. It was too early for this. Prof. Adam Pascal was their theology teacher and he was drilling them on Bible passages. Passages they hadn't studied. What bugged Cora most about their situation, though, was that it was entirely June's fault that they hadn't studied. If June had listened to Cora and stayed in the dorm to study instead of going to party and then deciding that she needed Cora's help getting back home, they might've been able to get the necessary scriptures read. But no, June just had to go and get so drunk that Cora had to run out to find her then pretty much carry her all the way back to the dorm! There was nothing Cora hated more than this because now, it was totally biting them in the butt because neither of them had the foggiest idea what was going on.

No wait. There was one thing Cora hated more than coming to class unprepared.

"June Freeman. Let's hear from you," Prof. Pascal turned to June with an unreadable smile.

"Oh, sorry professor. I didn't study," June replied in a sultry voice.

"Naughty girl," Pascal said, his grin growing slightly. Cora hissed in disgust. What a creep. And June wasn't much better. Cora was sure watching these two sickos flirting over Bible verses was going to make her sick.

Thankfully, their next class was English. Cora always excelled in English and she was very close to the professor, Aaron Yates. He was a very intimidating man but he had a soft spot for Cora simply because Cora was one of the few students of his that actually took learning seriously. This studious behavior earned Cora a lot of clout with Prof. Yates. It came in handy when Cora was trying to keep June from getting clobbered by the short-tempered teacher. Today June was in a heated debate with the professor about whether proper essay formatting was necessary or not.

"You must go by the book!" the professor boomed. "Stay forever faithful to the format!"

"But that's shallow and stupid!" June argued. "The content should be more important than the presentation. I mean, didn't they always say not to judge a book by its cover?" she trailed off and the whole class held its breath. June was the only one brave, or stupid, enough to dare argue with Prof. Yates. But when the professor, in his anger, couldn't think of a good rebuttal, June continued. "Speaking of which, why don't we go back to reading?" she asked. That silent insult towards Prof. Yates' teaching hung dangerously in the air.

"Why don't you just shut your mouth and get back to work?" Yates growled, leaning on June's desk and letting his sharp eyes pierce her very soul. His voice was far softer now but that didn't mean the danger had passed. Cora, wanting June to actually come out of English class in one piece, surreptitiously touched the girl's leg and June bit her lips. She understood what Cora wanted and decided to grant the brunette her wish. She looked away in submission and Prof. Yates smirked slightly before continuing his lecture on proper punctilios. Cora sighed in relief. They had survived another day. But seriously, why was June so hard to look after? Of course, Cora didn't regret accepting June's friendship last semester, but sometimes it did get tiring trying to look after her.

Next came Home Economics. Truly, both Cora and June had to agree it was one of the worst classes they were enrolled in. The subject itself was quite enjoyable but the professor was a huge flirt. It was creepy. And he didn't even have Prof. Pascal's charm. Even Cora had to admit that Prof. Pascal knew what he was doing when he was trying to win a woman's heart. This guy, Prof. Hasselhoff, was a different story. Instead, it was always all about him. He would flirt with a girl but spend more time charming himself than her. He was creepy and egotistical and none of his female students liked him. June and Cora always made sure to find the sewing machines farthest away from him to work at. For once, June wished that Nevaeh University uniforms had longer skirts. Cora hated seeing her friend so objectified, but Cora was just as unnerved by Hasselhoff as June was. Powerless to do anything, they grit their teeth and continued their sewing, trying hard to ignore their pompous professor.

Finally came choir. That class was just the gnat's whistle! June was an excellent singer and she enjoyed the course and this teacher, unlike most of the others, was very approachable. Despite being fairly old, he had a youth and a spring in his step that most people half his age lacked. This good humor and cheer made him an absolutely joy to work with. Cora was just the same, though, because this was the one class she felt truly unafraid in. She was head over heels for choir. She was incredibly enthusiastic and had a voice so good that even some of the best singers of Nevaeh were in awe of her. The current leader of the top trio, Geraldine, had already started to take interest in Cora.

"Amazing! Beautiful! Congrats! Divine! Extravagant! Fantastic!" the professor, Prof. Neely, applauded Cora's amazing voice and her ability to learn a complex dance almost instantly. Cora's sweet face lit up with a humble smile that had just a touch of pride. Choir was, without a doubt, a favorite of Cora's and of June's.

Next came Journalism. Again, neither girl liked that class. They had only taken it as a filler because there was no other seat open anywhere else. Cora's hatred, however, was more personal than just hating the class. She hated the teacher! He was self-righteous and bigoted. He was also a snitch and a gossip, but he always used the defense that it was because he was a reporter. Like that excused his childish and invasive behaviors! It was actually this constant spying that he did that incited Cora's anger against him. Somehow, he managed to find out that Cora was a lesbian and ever since that discovery, though he had not outed her, he did his best to make Cora as guilty and uncomfortable as possible. They all knew of Nevaeh's strict anti-gay policy and Prof. Bostwick, that was his name, was going to rub in to Cora for all it was worth.

"How about our dear, little Cora Stein answer now," Prof. Bostwick grinned during their lesson. They had been talking about some of the most recent scandals in the news and he was singling Cora out because of the topic of the story. "Tell us, dear, what did the tabloids say?"

"That it was a riveting sex story," Cora replied bluntly, earning a few sniggers from her peers.

"Who all was involved?" Bostwick asked, ignoring Cora's iciness. June, sensing the rising tension, came to her friend's aid.

"Two men," she snapped. "They were, obviously, gay. But I don't see what that has to do with camera maintenance," she crossed her arms and frowned up at the professor. Prof. Bostwick was so caught off guard by June's interruption that he entirely forgot about Cora. As his sharp eyes scrutinized June, he realized exactly who she was. This was the girl Prof. Pascal was flirting with! How… interesting… He stalked back to his desk to mask a grin and while his back was turned, June flipped him off. Cora smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anything for my lesbian lover," June replied with a smile and Cora couldn't help but chuckle. For a moment, the brunette could hardly believe she and June once hated each other. It was such a change now, they were close enough to practically be lovers.

Finally came P.E., taught by the psycho couple that also made up the school's police force: Batez and Bentz. They weren't real professors but they were still teaching and that was that. They were notorious for being loud and unnecessarily harsh.

"Slacking off and being lazy?"

"That's a translation,"

"Wearing the wrong clothes?"

"That's a translation,"

"Arguing with us?" back and forth, back and forth.

"I wonder if they ever get tired of saying that," June muttered in annoyance and Cora nodded but she didn't dare reply. She was smart enough not to mess with them because, as annoying as they were and as ridiculous as they seemed, they were terrifying. Even June was a little afraid of them and if they were people _June_ was afraid to defy, they were people _anyone_ was afraid to defy. But it was just because June, after one particularly daring scandal, had endured the misfortune of being knocked around by them. It had happened a few days ago but June was still really sore. That was how unforgiving they were. They didn't take their position as Nevaeh University's police force lightly.

But at last, after running and jumping and doing all kinds of pointless physical exercise, the class ended and school was finished for the day. June and Cora returned to their dorms to shower. They spent a lovely evening together, working on some of their homework before going out to one of Nevaeh University's many cafés for dinner. When night fell, however, the pair parted.

"I think I'm going out to the bar again," June said casually.

"Oh June! Not again! You have to study!" Cora protested, but June only gave Cora a seductive wave goodbye and then she was out the door. Cora watched her go in utter disbelief before exhaling slowly.

"It's gonna be another long night isn't it?" she asked herself, then she after June, expecting to have to carry her back to the dorms again at some ungodly hour in the morning. Of course, Cora loved June and vice versa, but June was far from an easy friend. In fact, there were some days Cora wondered if June was a friend at all… Cora shook her head and pushed away her thoughts of doubt as she scampered after her independent, rebellious friend. Hopefully the drinks would be good.

Years later, June ended up getting expelled from Nevaeh University. Following the violent display of police brutality and following the ruling that led to June's expulsion, the girl seemed to vanish entirely. Cora never saw her even once after the trial and this left the poor brunette to finish up her last year and a half of college entirely alone. Once she graduated, she ended up replacing Geraldine, taking over her position as choir mistress. Rumor had it that Cora received this giant promotion right out of the gate partly because she had earned it fairly and partly because Geraldine had been demoted after refusing to become the dean's sex slave. There was, of course, no way to confirm or deny this because Geraldine, who was now a school janitor, refused to say. So Cora was still stuck in Nevaeh University under the threatening dean while her oldest and dearest friend was missing and maybe even dead! It just depended upon the rumors you chose to listen to. But talk of June, either way, was forbidden. Those who were expelled from NU were erased entirely from the school's history and June was no exception.

As the years continued to roll on, not much changed. Prof. Pascal was still clearly sore over losing his affair with June, Prof. Yates had since become Cora's equal, Profs. Hasselhoff and Bostwick were still as creepy as they ever were before and Batez and Bentz hadn't lost an ounce of excitement at the prospect of beating the life out of anyone who set even a toe out of line. Cora seriously almost regretted not just following June into the mist because of how crappy life back here was, but it was too late for tears because she was as good as stuck under the dean and she had another singing performance in a few hours. She couldn't afford to regret and unless she was willing to spend an eternity lost, she couldn't even speculate about joining June in exile. Besides, it had been so many years, who knew if June was even still alive, or if she was, if she remembered anyone at NU? No, Cora had other things to do and couldn't afford to be distracted. She needed to find Prof. Neely, Pearl, and Virginia pronto! So off she went, her thoughts of her easy, old life fleeing from her mind.

 **AN: This was just to show what classes each of the castes of Heaven would teach if Heaven was a school (the sevens are just custodians and, thusly, don't have a class to teach). It was supposed to mirror a normal school day as well, every caste having a class to make up six or seven total classes per day. Notice, too, that there are no math or science classes. God, the dean, doesn't allow for that here. Instead, they cover the arts, like choir and English and journalism and of course, theology, which is being taught by the very highest caste. And yes, Heaven's school name is just its real name spelled backwards. Sorry.**


	3. Christmas Wish

It was Christmastime at Nevaeh University and everybody was going home for the holiday. Well, almost everybody. Cora Stein was one of the few staying and June Freeman, when she found out about this, decided to stay too.

"You really don't have to do this," Cora reassured June when June said she'd stay with Cora.

"I know, that's what makes me so nice!" the blond joked. Cora rolled her eyes but she laughed too. They had come a long way over the past month. Once upon a time, June had been one of Cora's biggest tormentors and now, the two were impossibly close and where June had once relished in bullying Cora, the blond couldn't even fathom leaving the girl lonely now. Cora, herself, was quite changed too, having come to love June dearly and she even made peace with all the other people who used to bully her. The four girls who shared a dorm with June and Cora were among those reformed bullies, all four of them considering Cora a friend now. It was great!

"In all seriousness, though, none of my family will mind," June continued. "I have so many sisters already that, if anything, it will be a relief to them all that I'm staying here!" she said and Cora laughed again. It was true, though, June's family was _massive._ Heck, even if June hadn't bothered to tell them in advance that she was going to stay with Cora back at Nevaeh University, they still probably wouldn't have noticed her absence.

Cora had met the Freeman family once over Thanksgiving. June's father was a wiry man but he was still very strong and he loved hugs. June's mother was, contrary to her spouse's figure, large and round. She was very authoritative but she was also incredibly kind and she knew that she was spoiling all 10 of her daughters like mad but she could never bring herself to stop. And yes. There were 10 girls. The Freeman family was predominately made up of those 10, green-eyed, blond-haired girls. June was closer to the older end of the clan, but that meant nothing as all 10 of them had an immense capacity for rebellion and trouble. It didn't matter how young or old, every single one of them was mad. June was just as bad as all of them. Clearly, it was genetic. But despite every last Freeman child being so hotheaded and free-spirited, they were all very friendly and kind and Cora got to experience this love right away. She was even dubbed as an honorary Freeman despite technically not having any ties with the Freemans. Mostly, though, June's family had just found it funny calling Cora an honorary Freeman because of how different she looked when compared to the rest of the clan. Once again, all of the daughters had blond hair and green eyes. The matriarch had black hair and brown eyes and the patriarch had very light brown hair and brown eyes. Cora had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Despite the physical differences, though, the Freemans all loved Cora and she was actually a little sad they hadn't invited her to stay for Christmas, but all of June's other sisters were already bringing friends over so it was just that there was literally no room for Cora. It was nothing personal. But that left Cora back here at the university because Heaven knew her own parents didn't want her back. They had disowned her ever since finding out one of her secrets. She had been living in a ramshackle apartment ever since. She was immensely thankful for the scholarship that had been offered to her because now she was able to pay for both the university and that apartment. But nobody knew about Cora's struggles, not even June. June did have her suspicions that Cora's home life was not the best, but the brunette refused to spill and June knew not to press her. Cora was grateful for this. She knew how naturally inquisitive June was and she was certain that her secrecy was torture for the blond, but she just couldn't bring herself to confess. She was just happy that June was so respectful of that, choosing to be a shoulder to cry on even if she didn't know why Cora was crying.

But enough of all that sadness! Even though Cora wasn't going home, she still had a really nice place to stay and, best of all, June was going to be right there with her! It was Christmastime! It was time to get into the holiday spirit! And with June around, this wasn't hard to do at all. On the contrary, if anything, June had too much Christmas spirit. In just a few short days, June had gotten stuck in a snowdrift, built an ugly snowmen outside the dean's office to annoy him, tracked snow all over the entry hall to the university, spilled a large pot of coca all over a priceless decorative rug, stolen several stockings, and run through the halls throwing holly and mistletoe while singing lewd carols at full blast. Through every prank, Cora stood by June with that same sense of awe, admonishment, and amusement.

Then at last, Christmas Eve rolled around and that night, a large feast was held for anyone else who had stayed behind this winter season. Of course, there were traditional dishes, but there were also variations upon the dishes and different plates from around the world. Cora was amazed they were able to eat it all. Where on earth had all the ingredients come from, anyway? Because some of the foods were ones Cora was certain that she'd never seen before. Yet here they were, surrounded by literal mountains of other exotic and delicious dishes. The term "Christmas Feast" almost didn't seem to do this massive amount of food justice, but there was no other word out there to describe all of it, so…

"I'll never eat again!" June groaned as she started on her fourth plate, still having only tasted a fraction of what the entire meal had to offer. Cora and everyone else around her understood the feeling perfectly.

But then at last, came desserts. They were even more amazing and exotic and beautiful and numerous than the dinner itself. Somehow, June, Cora, and the few others managed to get down several of those desserts before almost passing out. The whole meal lasted around six hours, starting at six and ending at midnight. The reason it ended at midnight was special. It was not an arbitrary time, rather, it was when one final, little dessert was brought in. This time, it was a cake, cut such that every person got exactly one slice. The reason this cake was considered more special than all the other ones was because, inside one of those slices, was a gold coin. Whoever got the gold coin would receive one Christmas Wish from the dean, so long as it was within his power, but being the dean, he had his ways. The limit upon the Christmas Wish was small. Rumors even said that if someone wished for the murder of someone else, _that_ wish would be granted too, though nobody ever wanted to test it to find out.

It was funny, though, to see that little cake after gorging on ones the size of a human child. This cake was so plain, too, it was just vanilla with chocolate icing whereas all the rest had been all kinds of flavors with fancy artwork done in icing and candy and candle. But despite its simple outward appearance, everyone knew that this cake was the biggest event of the night and people could hardly wait as the pieces were passed around. The dean, who sat at the head of this whole giant event, watched serenely as the clock struck 12:00 and everyone began searching their cake. It was really funny to see all of these distinguished scholars scarfing down a warm pastry or just crushing the whole thing under a fork in attempt to find the coin. Cora almost wanted to take a picture, but she was just as eager in her search for the coin. Alas, she had no luck.

"Oh well," she sighed. At least the cake was good. "But June, did you find it?" the brunette asked her friend.

"No," June replied, showing an empty plate.

"Oh well," Cora repeated, then she turned around to face the rest of the hall. "Who got it, do you think? Does anyone look impossibly happy?" she asked. While she was looking, though, a sudden smirk flickered across June's face as she slowly removed a gold circle from under her tongue.

10 minutes after the first slice of cake was handed out, the dean finally called out for the winner of the game.

"Will the one who has the gold coin please step forth for their Christmas Wish?" he asked, voice filling the whole hall. For a moment, there was silence, then June elbowed Cora.

"Go up there Cora," she whispered, but before Cora could protest, reminding the other girl that she didn't have the coin, she felt June press something into her hand. It was small and round and when she looked at it, she saw a flash of gold.

"Really?" the brunette whispered almost inaudibly. Was June really sacrificing her Christmas Wish for Cora? June nodded slightly and Cora couldn't think of the words to express her gratitude.

"Just go," June whispered playfully and Cora realized she had to move now. She jumped up and walked over to the dean, mind whirring with ideas for a good Christmas Wish. Among the standard ones of fame, fortune, or a passing grade, there was one thing in life that she really wanted. She wanted June's love. And Cora didn't mean platonically. That was Cora's secret, the reason her parents disowned her, she was lesbian. She wanted to wish for June's romantic love in return for several reasons. First and foremost was that Cora was quite possessive of June and she wanted to know that June loved her back. Then secondly, she wanted to know that such feelings would be received well in the first place. She knew the dangers of trying to come out, even to the people who knew her best. But sadly, Cora already knew that this wish would be impossible to make. Nevaeh University took a similarly anti-gay stance that her parents had. If Cora wished for June's love, or even a change in the outlook regarding same-sex romance, it would out her. Even if the dean actually did go with it, any dissenters would know exactly who did it. Cora was not about to out herself again. The wish would either fail or backfire. But then, another idea for a Christmas Wish came along…

"What is your Christmas Wish?" the dean rumbled as Cora gave him the coin. If there was any bad blood between the two from earlier that year, it had dissipated for this one night and, for once, the dean looked truly happy.

"I wish for June to be allowed to join the Nevaeh University Performing Arts Troupe," Cora replied simply, voice echoing the hall. A soft intake of breath was the response she received from the onlookers. Never before had someone used their Christmas Wish to grant someone else's. But if the dean was surprised by Cora's choice, he didn't show it. He didn't even question it! Instead, he only gave Cora one word in reply.

"Granted," he said. Cora bowed her thanks before sliding back to her seat.

"Cora?" June whispered the moment Cora sat back down. Her voice was choked with emotion. She had wanted to join the PAT ever since her first day here at NU but had been denied due to her free-spirited nature and her alternative taste in music and art. But now, she was free to join by order of the dean himself. And it was all thanks to Cora.

"It was nothing," the brunette replied and June felt her heart melt in affection.

Soon after the whole Christmas Wish game ended, though, everyone went to bed. It was late and they were all tired from the six hour feast. But there was still one last thing _June_ had to do before she could call it a day.

"You can't break tradition," she said suddenly, right as she and Cora climbed into bed.

"What?" Cora replied in confusion. Where had that come from? The two had scarcely said a word since the little wish thing happened.

"You can't break tradition," June repeated, then she pointed up over Cora's bed. Cora looked up. There tied to a rafter above her head, was a sprig of mistletoe. When Cora looked back down again and met June's eyes, they were sparkling with hope. Cora felt her heart pound. She knew she wanted the kiss, but she wanted it romantically and she was sure June wanted it platonically. It would be wrong of Cora to kiss-

Before she could even finish the train of thought, June had pressed her lips to Cora's. Cora was frozen in fear, but the warmth emanating from June's lips thawed her out again. Cora really had expected a platonic kiss, but when June deepened it, Cora indulged herself and let it happen and realized that maybe her romantic inclinations weren't as one-sided as she had feared… When June finally broke the kiss, she grinned playfully at Cora before returning to her bed with a seductive wink. Cora, through the hazy joy she felt, could think only one thing: _My Christmas Wish came true._

 **AN: Just some cute Cora and June romance because I'm a sucker for them as a ship. And yes, I actually did write this story around Christmas, I just didn't have the bravery to post it until now. And double yes, I kept my headcanons regarding June and Cora's families from my other stories in this story. Hope you liked this happier chapter of the NU series.**


	4. Expelled

"Are you screwy? This is going to get you expelled!" Cora Stein hissed as June Freeman smirked, holding one of the professor's ID cards.

"Not if you don't tell anyone!" June sing-songed in reply before scampering off, leaving an irritated Cora in her wake. June and Cora were devoted students at the esteemed Nevaeh University, yet June always erred on the troublemaker side. She was currently having an affair with one of the professors but, despite admonishment from Cora and some of her other peers, June didn't see what was so wrong about that. Expelled? Yeah right! They were just being worrywarts, though Cora was probably doing this all out of envy. June was going to be perfectly fine! Neither she nor the professor in question would be caught! Their affair had lasted this long, what could possibly get them caught now? No, tonight, June was going to go see that professor again and everything would be ok. She wouldn't get expelled.

That night, June was getting expelled. She and her lover had gone to the library because there was a book there that June wanted to read. It was a banned book, but she figured her lover's clout could save her. Nope. Instead, he betrayed her. He let her be dragged off by the NU police force. They were a brutal, nigh-insane couple called the Translators. June tried to cower from them, but the female Translator, Batez, just smirked and yanked her out of her hiding spot, shoving her into the arms of the male Translator, Bentz. Immediately, they began to beat her with their batons. June screamed in pain and begged for mercy as the blows came hard and fast, hitting every vulnerable spot she had. She could feel limbs breaking and bruises being formed as stars danced before her eyes. All the while, her lover had stalked away. He wasn't even going to stay and watch the results of his betrayal.

During the torment, some of June's classmates came running in.

"June!" Cora let out an agonized cry when she saw what had become of her best friend. Regardless of the horror she felt, though, Cora did nothing to stop it, nor did the other young women with her. Instead, they shut their eyes and ears to June's torment. They held each other and their stomachs as the beating carried on, more and more blood splattering across the floor and the bookshelves as June's screams faded away into feeble gasps. At last, the punishment came to an end. Mercifully, the Translators put away their batons, but what they did next wasn't much better. Instead, they grabbed June by the hair and dragged her out of the library, ignoring her last feeble cries for mercy. As they passed, June shot a desperate look to Cora, but Cora could only watch in silent horror.

Then, while Cora and the others were admonished by Librarian, June was being dragged down the hall and the stairs, to inflict maximum pain, and then right through the doors of NU. This was how a student was expelled. Right then and there, they were quite literally kicked out of the building. June was quite acquainted with this fact. The Translators continued to drag her along, across the long grassy fields of the campus and all the way past the school's golden gates. It was then that one of them uttered a high-pitched whistle and, out of nowhere, a big black bus appeared. It came careening around a corner, coming to a shuttering, sputtering stop in front of the university gates. The Translators shoved June roughly to the ground as the bus came to its stop then, without so much as another word or even a passing glance, they left. They left the scene, walking back through Nevaeh's gates and left June to rot behind them without looking back even once. June, meanwhile, wasn't moving at all. She simply laid on the cold, hard pavement, hardly able to hear the hissing and moaning of the black bus as the buzzing in her ears got steadily louder. The very last thing she heard before passing out entirely was the voice of an old man and he sounded almost sympathetic to her plight.

"My poor child," the driver murmured. "What ever happened to you?" and then June finally fainted away.

When June woke up again, she was lying in a dingy old hallway. After looking around and realizing that she was totally alone, the girl got up, hissing in pain as her whole body protested, but she couldn't just stay there, so she ignored the pain and got to her feet. Once she was upright, she slumped against the row of lockers on the wall and clung to them for support as she walked down the filthy and lopsided hallway. June began to sob out of fear, pain, and grief as she continued to limp along. This place smelled like decay and already, she could hear all kinds of maggots and vermin scuttling around the unlit corners. This was her new home now, and whatever evil that lived here was free to do with her what it wished.

The floors were cracked and muddy and the walls were much the same, lined with graffiti. The ceiling had broken, flickering light sources that buzzed and shot stray electric sparks everywhere. June could see stray pipes sticking out of the walls and floor and around their moldy mouths, brackish water was dripping out. There was a water fountain, but it didn't work and what little water did come out looked more like mud. Doors were falling off hinges and papers covered the floor and desks in the rooms behind those doors. She imagined that the bathrooms, if they even existed, would've been the most dirty and disgusting of all. The food was probably all spoiled and doubtless, the cafeteria furniture would be in total disrepair. Oh my God, there were even plants growing in the cracks of the floors and walls! Literally, ivy crept along and consumed patches of the walls. June was even sure she was seeing bloodstains in certain places, along with lots of other fluids that June didn't want to inspect. There was also an overall stench of sulfur and decay that made her even sicker. She could almost taste the sourness and death! This was where she was to spend the rest of her life too… No, it couldn't be! Her sin wasn't that major! She just wanted to read that book! Surely this was a mistake, a nightmare! Oh, but she knew better. Way down deep, she knew she'd never go home again. Instead, on she limped.

Some time later, June finally ran into another living being, but he was hardly human. Instead, there was something wrong with his skin that made it look like he had a snake skin instead of human skin.

"What happened to your face?" June asked as she passed him.

"Aren't we one to talk?" he replied. June shuddered at his hissing voice and looked away but she knew he was right. She could feel how swollen and bloody her face was and she was sure that she would, appearance wise, fit in well here.

"Can I have a drink?" she asked weakly as she turned back to him, noticing a flask in his lap.

"What's in it for me?" he asked. June looked at herself.

"I don't have anything," she admitted.

"That shiny pendant?" he suggested. She looked down to see the pin her lover gave her after their first date. The last gift from home…

"I can't," she whimpered sadly, touching the pin.

"A connection? Then I must have it!" he cried. "Come, come in! Stay a spell, let me lighten your burden…" he hissed, leading the wounded and frightened woman into one of the nearby empty classrooms. This one had a giant red stain on the whiteboard at the front of the class and June wasn't sure if that stain was blood or marker.

The boy shoved June into one of the desks, knocking the textbooks out of the way. As they hit the ground, a few of them tore open and more pages came spilling out. If the boy was put off by this, he didn't show it, choosing instead to drag another desk across the floors, humming as the legs of the desk squealed against the uneven tiles. Once the desk was in front of June, he took his own seat and, for a moment, only inspected the newcomer, then quicker than a snake, he struck. He lunged forward and grabbed the pin right off of June's dress before hiding it under one of three cups he pulled from his old overcoat. June didn't need him to say a word to understand. She really didn't want to play this game but she was beyond calling the shots now so, after inspecting the three cups, she finally pointed at one. Nope. The snake-boy cackled wickedly as he chose the correct cup. She put the pin, and the cups, back into his overcoat and then fled from the classroom without another word. June was still thirsty.

June sat in that abandoned classroom for a good time more, just crying, then a new figure entered in. This time, he had bright red skin and was far calmer and softer than snake-boy. Instinctively, June knew she was looking at the dean and she was terrified. The horns, the claws, the billowing black robe, all of it scared June and he made no move to ease her fears as he and several other professors entered the room with him. For the rest of the day, June found herself surrounded by the staff members of Hlleville College and they were, to say the least, ugly. There was an old man, who had been the driver who picked her up from NU, a squat man, the scaly boy, and the dean himself, of course.

"Welcome home," they hissed, slithering around her and trying to fix her.

As the day went on, June found herself almost comfy. Of course she was still scared, sad, and longing for home, but there had been an unexpected yet powerful friendless shown to her and now she almost felt ok here.

"It's always prettiest after the fall," the dean assured as he left her in an empty office to collect her thoughts. For so long, she imagined this place to be horrid and although it was to some degree, the dean wasn't nearly as evil as the legends had said and his crew were quite kind. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all…

Years later, June (or Doll, as she now called herself), found it hard to believe she had ever once belonged to NU. Sure it was a pretty place, but it was full of cruelty and lies. Here at HC, she was with her own kind and had come to love even the most decrepit of areas in her domain. As for NU and all its inhabitants? Only hatred and bloodlust remained in Doll. She vowed that one day she would make them pay for getting her expelled. Somehow. She would just have to wait…

 **AN: I know this was pretty much shot-for-shot of June's actual fall, but I needed something to transition her from Heaven school to Hell school, so here we are.**


	5. Hlleville College

The bell sounded in the distance and Doll sat down. Normally, she would've been at the front of the class but today, she was going to be taking lessons _alongside_ her coworkers. But that was because this particular class was special. It was more of a training session and it was being run by the dean's right-hand man, Prof. Callie. He was standing at the chalk board, using the little stubs of white to draw and write upon the cracked and filthy blackboard. The lesson was about some minor renovations Hell was going to go through and what the other staff members, like Doll, were supposed to do with these new renovations. It was a very boring lesson and Prof. Callie's old, warbling voice didn't help matters. It didn't take Doll long to find herself bored by the lecture and, subtly, she turned around in her seat to study her fellow classmates.

Sitting beside her, smoking a cigarette and twiddling with his favorite knife, was her boyfriend Scorpion. The pair of them had hooked up after Doll ran into him scrawling on a row of lockers with spray paint. Where he even found that spray paint was beyond Doll, but she watched silently as he wrote crude messages across every locker and when he realized she was watching, he only grinned.

"Hey, Dollface!" he was just so casual about being caught that Doll had been intrigued enough just to watch him go on. After that pleasant little bonding-session, the young man had spray-painted Doll's own face on the walls and it was so beautiful that Doll found herself quite flattered. The rest was history and now here they sat together in class, though of course, neither of them were paying any attention to the lesson at all.

After watching Scorpion finish carving his name into the underside of the desk, again, Doll turned her attention elsewhere. Sitting beside Scorpion was Smith, a rough and quiet fellow. He was good-looking in a more rugged sense when compared to Scorpion. Currently, he was twiddling with a piece of metal, tapping and poking it. Upon closer inspection, Doll realized the hunk of metal was actually a harmonica. Knowing only two Hlleville College students with a harmonica, Doll knew where to look. Right behind Smith was Major, the music major of the lot. Doll watched him peek over Smith's shoulder as Smith tinkered with his favorite instrument. Doll figured he'd broken it and was asking Smith to fix it. He was a smith after all.

Sitting beside Smith was Twin, the snake boy Doll met on her first day here. Despite their initially rocky start, Doll had since grown used to his devious and callous behaviors and now the two often went out to Hlleville's bars and drank together, a slight irony given how they first met. He was currently shuffling a deck of cards and whispering to the girl behind him. Her name was Wick and she was holding several poker chips. Those two loved to play strip poker but, of course, they didn't dare do it now. Instead, they went for regular poker.

Ogling Wick from several desks away was Magician. Contrary to his name, he was a horrible wizard. He was also incredibly lame and foolish, having an oddly squeaky voice. He was the class losers and absolutely no one was intimidated by him. His only friend was a bunny creatively named Mr. Bunny (who was currently asleep in his lap) and he was the butt-monkey of many jokes, as proven by Fool who was busy blowing spit wads at Magician's back. Poor fellow. Doll was still debating whether or not if she wanted to help him win Wick's wild heart. It was clear that he was infatuated and Wick, herself, seemed to enjoy Magician's company and Doll did fancy herself a love expert. Oh well, maybe one day she would help.

Surrounding Wick were her three best friends, her Woe-Maidens. Doll liked all of them, despite them being as wild and loud as hyenas. Oh, speak of the Devil! Scarcely had Doll reflected upon how like hyenas the three girls were when they all burst out laughing for seemingly no reason at all. It was loud and discordant but no one even bothered to try to shut them up just because it wouldn't work. Oh, no wait! Someone tried to shut them up. And that someone was actually another trio of young girls. They called themselves Rosy Bayonets and though they weren't as giggly as the Woe-Maidens, they were still just as loud, always chatting at someone in their strange accents. Doll couldn't hear their words over the mechanical screeching of their steampunk outfits but she could see from their faces that they were trying to get the Woe-Maidens to calm down. This only incited further laughter from the latter three because suddenly, _everything_ was funny.

"ENOUGH, you people! Need I remind you of the rules?!" Prof. Callie boomed, finally losing his temper. He clapped loudly in order to silence the rowdy class. Despite his shy, frail person, he could be very fearsome and commanding. It didn't help that he had the HC police force at his back either. There was only one man part of the police force, but he had enough strength and ferocity to match 10 cops. He was known only as Tamer and when he could sense Prof. Callie's displeasure, he growled. He glared at the guilty girls and raised his whip just a little. The Woe-Maidens got the picture and they forced their howls of laughter to become stifled giggles. It was obviously quite the effort.

To her right, in response to the Woe-Maidens' chastisement, Hobo Clown played several mocking notes on his harmonica. Doll smirked slightly while the other students laughed. She found him satirically funny and talented and he, like her, was on a vow of silence. Both of them only spoke when their words had to be sung, other than that, though, they were dead quiet. Hobo Clown cocked his shaven head in her direction and winked, not missing her pleased smile. They were the kind of friends who could sit together in silence and not feel awkward about it. Their friendship also stemmed from the fact that he was friendly with Scorpion too and had actually helped them get together. Knowing he was obsessed with coins, Doll tossed him a few stray pennies for his harmonica solo and he gave a humble bow as he pocketed them.

But now, with class somewhat under control again, the boring lesson continued. Doll continued to let her heterochromia eyes search the room in search of something more interesting. Occasionally, she would jot down a note or two in the tattered notebook she owned. She, like everyone else at Hlleville College, did like Prof. Callie, but they all hated this lesson so she wasn't the only one still dozing off. She was lulled into a sense of relaxation knowing her colleagues of Hlleville were at her side. But at last, the bell sounded in the distance and Doll let out a silent cheer while her peers vocalized their joy at ending class. Truly, even Prof. Callie looked happy the lecture was over.  
"Shall we, Doll-face?" Doll turned to see her boyfriend extending his arm cordially. Doll smirked slightly and pretended to curtsey before taking his arm and gliding out of the class.

 **AN: I have a theory that the carnies act as both teacher and student in their Hell school and this fic portrays them as the students with Ticket Keeper acting as teacher. As you can see, this is a pretty standard class, students not paying attention as the irate teacher drones on until the bell rings and then everybody runs out.**


	6. Ready For War

Doll had long since gotten used to Hlleville College and forgotten her old life as a student at Nevaeh University. Truly, she preferred Hlleville because, despite being dingy and full of creeps, they were more accepting of her own strange nature than Nevaeh ever had been. Here, Doll had a home and a family that was just her style. From Nevaeh, she only had scars and scorn. She had no friends from Nevaeh left but here? Doll was surrounded by people she liked and here, she actually had a _good_ lover. His name was Scorpion. Nobody at HC had a real name. Nobody cared either. They preferred to be rebels as often as they could even if it was as simple as having titles or code names instead of real names. Doll's used to be June Freeman, but she changed hers too. Painted Doll fit better on her now.  
Currently, Prof. Dayton Callie the Keeper (a.k.a. the dean's right hand) was telling Doll and several other staff members about the newcomers. Newcomers that hadn't even made it into NU.

"Boo!" somebody hissed when Prof. Callie explained this and everyone else agreed. See, the way it went was that you only had two options of schools: Nevaeh University or Hlleville College but nobody came to HC willingly. There were only two times you wound up here. The first was if you were denied entry to NU and the second, which was the way Doll had come here, was if you got expelled from NU. If you were expelled, you joined the staff. Doll wasn't a full teacher, preferring to act as an aid, but she was still part of the staff. If you had not gotten into NU at all, though, like these three newcomers, you were not given the privilege of being a teacher and instead became prey for anyone else in the school. Prof. Callie was currently sending out the staff to fetch the newcomers and rough them up a bit before enrolling them. Now, nobody ever said HC had a system fairer than NU. In truth, they were probably about equal in fairness. If you were expelled from NU, you were treated ok at HC and hired to teach. If you didn't even make it to NU you didn't feel any loss, yet you were stuck on the lower rungs of HC hierarchy.  
Not that Doll cared about justice anymore. Instead, she accepted her job of retrieving one of the three. She and Scorpion were set after somebody named Tamara, but based on her character traits and dress, she'd be dubbed as the Frog. Scorpion and Doll were tasked with giving her her first lesson here at Hlleville. Scorpion, however, wasn't present at this meeting to receive the assignment. Being the bad boy rebel he was, he'd actively not shown up just to piss off Prof. Callie. It didn't work, though, as Prof. Callie was used to Scorpion's rude behavior. Instead, he sent Doll out to cage him up briefly and teach him a lesson of his own. He wanted her to give Scorpion time to reflect on punctuality. Of course, Doll had acquiesced and since she knew Scorpion really well, she knew exactly where he'd be.

But scarcely had Doll locked Scorpion up when an innocent young brunette appeared. It was Tamara. Doll watched from a hidden spot behind an old filing cabinet as this sweet little newcomer helped Scorpion escape his little cage. Then she watched as he seduced her and guided her deeper into the dingy college building. Doll didn't mind watching Scorpion flirt with another because she knew that, in the end, he belonged to her. So instead she watched the drama and romance unfold, stalking them both for the duration of their walkabout the college campus. At last Scorpion had tied the girl to an old desk and flicked out his knife…

Doll played her part in the show by bringing the wounded girl to the heart of the college and singing about her to give everyone else a proper understand of this new student. True, Doll never spoke, but she sang and sang powerfully. Today's song was full of scorn at the foolish Frog and hopes that she'd learn better next time. Then they hauled off her motionless body to put her in a simple white shift and enroll her in a lower class in the other part of the college.

Several hours later, the other newcomers had been dealt with as well. Or, at least, one of them was dealt with. It was a woman named Ms. Merrywood and she'd been denied entry to NU because she had a bad happen of taking things that didn't belong to her. Twin and Hobo Clown had set after her with Twin gambling and humiliating her and Hobo Clown adding to the shame by getting her caught and whipped by Tamer. After the woman had suffered her mental and physical abuse at the hands of the Hlleville staff, her unconscious form was dragged away to join Tamara. They were going to be fixed back up and then they would join the other students in the enrollment process. The hazing ceremonies were over now.

But what of the last newcomer? Well, he was a man named John and the dean himself dealt with him. In the end, however, John couldn't be broken or corrupted by the brutal initiation of Hlleville College. For that, the dean saw no reason for him to stay and all but forced the man into NU, having Prof. Callie drive him up personally in that black bus. Upon arrival, John was indeed taken in by the NU dean, but it was a very reluctant thing. To the dean of Hlleville, however, this was marvelous because it meant NU wasn't as sharp as it used to be. It was making misjudgments and miscalculations. Every mistake Nevaeh made would be another win for Hlleville and that was just what the dean wanted.

Part of the reason for the rivalry between HC and NU was that the dean of HC used to be a professor at NU but, like June, his ambitions cost him dearly and he was fired on spot, sent away in a black bus never to be seen again. But he hadn't come alone. Instead, several of his closest friends also quit their teaching jobs and joined him in exile where, together, they built a new school, one to rival the corrupt NU. For years, HC flourished, taking in strays that NU didn't want. They intended to build an army to challenge NU and it seemed things were finally taking off.

In fact, the dean of HC was currently busy rallying his teachers (Doll, Scorpion, Twin and Hobo Clown were among them) and telling them of his plan to destroy NU. His plan went in the lines that if they could save rejected students, they could have those students infiltrate NU and start a fight from the inside while everyone else trained for battle and made to attack from the outside. Nobody could find fault with the plan, thus it began immediately with Tamara as the second student to be forced into NU. Doll had always felt revenge would come and now it seemed the time was near and she was ready for war.

 **AN: This story served both to explain how the events of TDC 1 would've unfolded in a School AU and it was also supposed to kind of show how the two schools worked in relation to each other. To recap, after you get old enough, you apply for NU by default because nobody wants to go to HC. If you get into NU, you're good. If not, you go to HC by default. You can, however, be expelled from NU, which results in you going to HC.**


End file.
